Moved by the spirit.

As much as I want to become a great writer I find myself drawn to focus on improving my skills in photography. If I had my way, I would take pictures all day every day for the rest of my life. Thanks to my loving husband who purchased a beautiful Canon digital SLR camera for me, I now have the opportunity to make those dreams come true.

It's a bit of a voyeuristic thrill, not in any inappropriate way, to watch people from a distance and capture moments of their lives. To see their joy as well as their sorrow. From the time I was a child, I was intrigued by other peoples families and watching how they interacted with one another. Probably because I was an only child and it was a very quiet home that I lived in. None of my friends wanted to play at their home with all their brothers and sisters there to bother us. But at my house it was quiet and we could do whatever we wanted without being interrupted.

I have made it a point to try and be more open to spirit and to listen when I hear that still small voice of spirit that guides me. I just wasn't expecting the promptings of spirit to come when I was taking pictures for my sister in law and her family. A simple family photo shoot turned out to be much more.

We had a lovely time visiting with family and friends at our niece's baptism. I had my camera and took a few casual shots as people ate their lunch. There was one shot in particular that made me stop and take in the feelings of the image I had just captured. It was a picture of a beautiful little girl who having just been baptized, was dressed in white. She was standing next to her great grandmother listening to the wise advice the woman had for her. The light from a nearby window cast a soft glow behind them and it left them both looking like angels. As I was leaving the building with my husband, we stopped to speak with the family's beautiful matriarch and her husband. She is one of the most kind and loving women I have ever met. As I stood listening to the conversation of this wise couple, I kept feeling drawn to take pictures of them but especially pictures of her. I was drawn to the kindness she showed to her son in law and the energy that had surrounded her while she was talking with her grandchildren. Some people shy away from a camera but this kind couple honored my request and we shot some beautiful pictures in front of the red brick chapel which was gently framed with vibrantly colored fall leaves. I figured that these pictures would be a nice surprise for my sister in law since she hadn't asked for her mother and father in law's pictures to be taken.

As we jumped in the truck and waited for the rest of my sister in law's children to get ready, I looked out the window and watched as this family's sweet grandma gave hugs to each and every one of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. I don't know what posessed me but I grabbed my camera and started shooting. There was nothing fancy about these moments I captured. The lighting was poor, no one was posed. It was just a grandmother saying good bye. How could I have known then that these pictures would be the last ones taken of this grandmother and it was her final goodbye to those she dearly loved.

We finished the shoot and that night I started the editing process for the 462 images that I had captured that day. I made some scrapbook pages using The LDS Family Proclamation template from My Memories Suite.com. There is one page that says "The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave". When I put the picture of the grandmother and grandfather on the page, my brain was second guessing the choice. I didn't want it to sound morbid, but I could't bring myself to change the picture so I left it.

Exactly 1 week later we heard that this dear sweet woman had suddenly passed away. It was a shock. So unexpected. Then it all made sense to me. Why I had been guided to get her picture. Why I took the pictures of her hugging the grandchildren as she got ready to leave. Why I couldn't bring myself to take her picture off the scrapbook page and why that page was so important for that family to have. What an amazing gift spirit has made possible for this family. I feel honored to have been a part of it.